The Pelican Brief (film)

The Pelican Brief
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Alan J. Pakula
Produced by
Written by Alan J. Pakula
Based on The Pelican Brief
by John Grisham
Starring
Music by James Horner
Cinematography Stephen Goldblatt
Edited by
Production
company
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date
  • December 17, 1993 (1993-12-17)
Running time
 141 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $45 million
Box office $195.3 million

The Pelican Brief is a 1993 American legal political thriller based on the novel of the same name by John Grisham. Directed by Alan J. Pakula, the film stars Julia Roberts in the role of young law student Darby Shaw and Denzel Washington as Washington Herald reporter Gray Grantham. The film, which features music composed by James Horner, was the last film that featured Pakula as a writer or producer before his death.[1]

Plot

After two Supreme Court justices are killed by an assassin named Khamel, Tulane University law student Darby Shaw writes a legal brief detailing her theory on why they were killed. She gives the brief to her law professor Thomas Callahan, who in turn gives a copy to Gavin Verheek, special counsel to the Director of the FBI. Callahan is killed by a car bomb; Darby manages to avoid the same fate and is subsequently attacked by an unknown assailant. Realizing that her brief was accurate, she goes into hiding and reaches out to Verheek for assistance.

An informant calling himself Garcia contacts Washington Herald reporter Gray Grantham with information about the assassinations, but suddenly disappears. Darby contacts Grantham, who finds her information is accurate. Darby's computer, disks, and files disappear from her home, where she is again attacked but manages to escape. She contacts and agrees to meet Verheek, but Khamel kills Verheek and impersonates him at the meet. Before Khamel can kill Darby, he is shot and killed by an unknown person.

Darby agrees to meet Grantham in New York City, where she shares the theory expressed in her brief: the assassinations were done on behalf of oil tycoon Victor Mattiece, who intends to drill for oil on Louisiana marshland that is habitat for an endangered species of brown pelicans. A court appeal to deny Mattiece the drilling rights is expected to reach the Supreme Court. Darby has surmised that Mattiece, hoping to turn the case in his favor, is behind the justices' murders, given their history of environmentalism. When Grantham tells her about Garcia, they discover that the man is Curtis Morgan, a lawyer in the oil and gas division at the Washington, DC law firm of White & Blazevich.

Darby visits White & Blazevich, pretending to have an appointment with Morgan, and is told he had been killed. Suspecting that his murder was related to the incriminating information, she and Grantham visit his widow who gives them a key to a safe deposit box. Darby visits the bank to retrieve the contents of the box. After barely escaping death by a car bomb, they reach the Washington Herald building where they review the documents and a videotape recovered from Morgan's box. The tape confirms Darby's theory, as Morgan's documents prove his own discovery that Mattiece ordered the assassination of the Justices. With this evidence, Grantham writes his story. He gives the FBI a chance to comment and FBI Director Voyles confirms that Darby's "Pelican Brief" was delivered to the White House. He reveals the President ordered the FBI to "back off", and that the CIA is investigating Mattiece, with one of them killing Khamel to save Darby's life. A plane is arranged for Darby to flee the country.

Darby is watching a TV interview of Grantham where it is revealed that Mattiece and two partners at White & Blazevich have been indicted in federal court, the President's chief of staff has resigned, and the President (who received $4.2 million in contributions from Mattiece) will not seek reelection. Grantham deflects speculation that Darby is fictional, but does agree that she is "almost" too good to be true. Darby smiles.

Cast

Reception

Critical response

The film received mostly mixed reviews from critics. Pat Collins, from WWOR-TV, said that the film was, "A heart-stopping, spine-chilling, adrenaline-pumping, run-for-your-life thriller." Roger Ebert praised the film and gave it 3/4 in his review.[2] It currently holds a 51% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[3] Metacritic gives the film a score of 50 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally mixed reviews".[4]

Film critic Brian Lowry of Variety wrote in his review:"Pakula does a remarkable job in weaving and making sense of these complex strands. Although there’s plenty of suspense as Darby and Gray evade her pursuers , the director eschews the cheaper tricks of the trade, respecting the audience’s ability to keep track of what’s going on. Also, Brief is a relatively gore-free thriller, with most of the violence effectively conveyed offscreen."[5] Film critic Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote in her review: "The Pelican Brief is best watched as a celebration of liquid brown eyes and serious star quality, thanks to the casting of Ms. Roberts and Denzel Washington in its leading roles. Neither of these first-rate actors is shown to great dramatic advantage, but they both do a lot to make the movie shine."[6]

Box office

The film was a box office hit and grossed $195,268,056 worldwide.[7][8]

Release

The Pelican Brief was released on VHS on April 22, 1997, by Warner Home Video.[9] The film was released on Blu-ray on February 10, 2009, by Warner Home Video.[10] The Pelican Brief was released on DVD on September 7, 2010, by Warner Home Video.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "The Pelican Brief". Turner Classic Movies. United States: Turner Broadcasting System. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  2. ↑ Ebert, Roger (December 17, 1993). "The Pelican Brief". RogerEbert.com. Chicago: Ebert Digital LLC. Retrieved July 18, 2018. templatestyles stripmarker in |work= at position 1 (help)
  3. ↑ "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com.
  4. ↑ "The Pelican Brief". Metacritic. United States: CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  5. ↑ Lowry, Brian (December 12, 1993). "The Pelican Brief". Variety. Los Angeles: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  6. ↑ Maslin, Janet (December 17, 1993). "Review/Film; Presenting Nancy Drew For the 90's". The New York Times. New York City: The New York Times Company. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  7. ↑ Fox, David J. (December 20, 1993). "Pelican' Soars at the Box Office Movies: The mystery, with Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington, takes in more than $16 million. `Mrs. Doubtfire,' `Schindler's List' also do well". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles: Tronc, Inc. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
  8. ↑ Fox, David J. (January 3, 1994). "'Mrs. Doubtfire,' 'Pelican Brief' propel final week and 'Jurassic Park' chews up the competition as industry receipts hit $5.2 billion". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles: Tronc, Inc. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
  9. ↑ "The Pelican Brief". Warner Home Video (VHS). Burbank, California: WarnerMedia. April 22, 1997. ASIN 6303101232. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  10. ↑ "The Pelican Brief". Warner Home Video (Blu-ray). Burbank, California: WarnerMedia. February 10, 2009. ASIN B001NHX3ZS. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  11. ↑ "The Pelican Brief". Warner Home Video (DVD). Burbank, California: WarnerMedia. September 7, 2010. ASIN 0790731525. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
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